Eoin Morgan ‘could QUIT as England’s white-ball captain’ amid poor form

Eoin Morgan’s reign as England’s white-ball captain could be nearing its conclusion, according to reports last night.

Morgan, who turns 36 in September, was said by The Guardian to be considering stepping down after more than seven years in the job – a period in which he took England to their first men’s one-day World Cup title and revolutionised their approach to limited-overs batting.

After making ducks in the first two ODIs in the Netherlands last week, Morgan missed the third game with what was described as a groin strain, but recovered quickly enough to play in a corporate match at Lord’s three days later.

He has always insisted he would step down if he no longer felt he was worth his place, and is still regarded as the leader of the white-ball set-up.

But his runless trip to Amsterdam did not come out of the blue. Since the end of August 2020, he has made just one half-century in 26 innings for England across the 50-over and T20 formats. 

Since the 2019 World Cup success, he has scored a solitary hundred, against his native Ireland at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl.

If Morgan was to step down, Jos Buttler would likely replace him ahead of the T20 World Cup

If confirmed, the decision to quit cannot have been made lightly: it would mean handing Jos Buttler the job with less than four months to go before the start of the T20 World Cup in Australia.

England’s white-ball team embark on a three-match T20 series against India next week, starting in Southampton. 

The ECB were last night not available for comment.